Your top 20 list could include...
• Businesses who have referred new clients to you
• Businesses who have made your life easier in some way
• Businesses who have helped you to solve a problem
• Businesses who have made you more successful
• Businesses who may have spent money with you
• Businesses who have encouraged and inspired you
• Businesses who are your favourite suppliers
• Etc
Creating a list like this should take you 5-10 minutes.
Step Two: Send a short personal letter to the contact person in each business.
Do this by 'snail mail' and make the letter distinctive in some way. (Perhaps sent it out in a coloured envelope so it stands out from the other mail this person will normally receive.)
Do three things in this personal letter:
A: Thank each person for their help and support over the last 12 months.
B: Give them an inexpensive (but memorable) gift to show your appreciation
C: Wish them well for the brand new year starting soon.
Ideally your memorable gift should be something that you think they will value highly. I suggest you invest somewhere between $15 and $30 for each person. And you might also look at trying to come up with a gift that is quite different from other things they may be getting.
So I don't recommend sending a calendar or bottle of wine to these 20 people.
Because this type of gift is very common at this time of the year.
Find something that is 'out of the ordinary' if you like.
There are many out of the ordinary and uncommon gifts you could send.
How could you show your gratitude to 20 businesses that have been of help to you over the last 12 months?
So get your thinking cap on.
(If you would like an 'out of the ordinary' gratitude marketing idea that a number of my own clients are using just email me using the link at the end of this article. Mention 'top 20' in your message and I'll give you the full details without obligation. The Gratitude Marketing idea that my clients are using is very positive and will be remembered for a long time.)
Step Three: Send your letter and gift with no expectation of getting anything in return.
Your goal here is to simply identify 20 key people in business that you would like to say 'thank you' to and then do something tangible to show your appreciation.
There are three helpful benefits from using something like the 'Top 20 Gratitude Strategy'...
Benefit One: You now have 20 people in business who remember you in a very positive way. (This can often produce unexpected benefits when you least expect it.)
Benefit Two: You have differentiated your business from many others because you have done something a little bit different at this time of the year.
Benefit Three: When you do something positive like this for 20 other people you actually feel pretty good about yourself at the same time.
I invite you to try this simple gratitude marketing strategy in your own business. It's affordable, easy to do, and you never know what long term results it could potentially create for you.
'The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.' - William James
Action Exercise:
How could you show your gratitude to 20 businesses that have been of help to you over the last 12 months?
Graham McGregor is a consultant specialising in memorable marketing. You can download his 396 page 'Unfair Business Advantage' Ebook at no charge from www.theunfairbusinessadvantage.com. 
